


Tea, Toast, and Daedra

by Irrepressable



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: A nasty cold, Food Poisoning, Peeps get sick, Snarky Dremora, Sparkticus is secretly a bookworm, Tea, besties who won't admit that they are besties, mudcrabs are the worst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 21:39:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16146047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irrepressable/pseuds/Irrepressable
Summary: It isn't every day that an Argonian catches a cold. It's even less often that a Dremora takes care of a sick Argonian. Sparkticus and Lost-In-The-Forest friendship. Takes place a few years before Call It A Hunch. Now with part II!





	1. Lost-In-The-Forest

Skyrim really wasn't the best place to get sick. Fortunately, the harsh climates made for hardy people. You didn't even have to be born in Skyrim. You just had to be there for long enough. Of course, this was effectively a moot point for Lost-In-The-Forest. She was an Argonian, and therefore already resistant to diseases. Unfortunately, an Argonian's resistance wasn't perfect. Sometimes an Argonian became ill. This, for Lost-In-The-Forest, was one of those times. At least she wasn't in Skyrim. No, she was in Imperial City, visiting her mother. It was during that visit that Lost-In-The-Forest came down with a cold. It was a very bad cold, one that left her bedridden. Her mother, Tala, tried to take care of her, but there was only so much the older Argonian could do. Besides, the florist had a job to do. She couldn't take care of her daughter all day. So Tala reluctantly left her oldest daughter alone. Well, sort of alone. She was never really alone. Tala gave a shudder. Lost-In-The-Forest always had that Dremora with her. Tala couldn't stay with her. Later, she would send her middle daughter, Tileeli, to check on her. With that comforting thought in mind, Tala left her house to go to work.

　

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Meanwhile, in her room, Lost-In-The-Forest lay tucked in bed, her eyes bleary and her nose running. Once again, she let out a moist, hacking cough. The action abused her already sore throat. She supposed this was partly her fault for not bothering to learn more than the bare basics of Restoration magic. She shivered, her fever making things seem colder. She was nothing short of miserable. Being an Argonian, she didn't get sick often. When she did, she hated every minute of it. Who in their right mind would enjoy getting sick? She coughed again, this time bringing some phlegm up with it. She swallowed the phlegm, having nothing else to do with it. She then brought a handkerchief up and blew her nose. Across the room, her summoned Dremora, Sparkticus stood, eyeing her with distaste. "You mortals and your diseases." he snorted.

"Shut up." Lost-In-The-Forest replied. "It's not my fault that mortals like me get sick. I shouldn't have caught this cold in the first place. I'm an Argonian!"

"You are ill because you and all mortals are weak." Sparkticus said with a snort.

"Get over here and I'll kick your-" Lost-In-The-Forest broke out into another violent fit of coughing.

"You're not in any condition to kick anyone's anything." Sparkticus said observantly.

"What are you going to do about it?" Lost-In-The-Forest said, her voice still scratchy. "Kick _my_ ass?"

"Your ass is in bed." Sparkticus replied. "It will stay in bed."

The Dremora let out a sigh before saying, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but your mother is correct. You need to stay in bed."

Lost-In-The-Forest started to laugh, but that laugh shortly broke into a cough. When the fit was done, she asked, "And that leaves who to take care of me? You?"

Sparkticus grimaced. "Apparently so."

"What do you know about taking care of sick mortals?" Lost-In-The-Forest asked.

Sparkticus paused. Without a word, he walked away. Lost-In-The-Forest groaned. That insufferable Dremora flaked on her! Wasn't he supposed to serve her? Well, she didn't really treat him like a servant. More like a travelling companion. She rather liked him, and he didn't seem to dislike her, even if he did constantly complain about her weaknesses as a mortal. Lost-In-The-Forest sniffed. Stupid cold. She lived a rather interesting life, but leave it to her to catch something so mind-numbingly normal. The sooner she recovered, the better. Only time would tell if she ever returned to speaking terms with Sparkticus. She figured that he was probably reading a book or eating. Anything that meant staying away from her weak, sick self. Of course, this mild bout of self-pity was quite exhausting. She laid back on her pillow and her heavy eyes slid shut. The next thing she knew, someone was shaking her shoulder. She sat up quickly, but she regretted it when she erupted in another bout of coughing. She looked over to see who it was that had awoken her. She saw the familiar black and red face of Sparkticus. It was what he had in his hands that was interesting. In the Dremora's hands was a cup. It was once beautiful, white with ornate blue designs. Now it was faded and slightly chipped. Inside the cup was a steaming, brownish liquid. Lost-In-The-Forest raised a brow ridge. Sparkticus had brought her tea? Bringing her shaking hands up, the Argonian mage attempted to take the cup from him, but she was too weak. Letting out a sigh, Sparkticus sat down on a stool by the bed and brought the worn cup up to her mouth. The Argonian opened her mouth and let the Dremora pour some of the tea into it. Lost-In-The-Forest's brow ridges shot up again. It was exactly the right temperature. Once the Dremora was satisfied that the Conjurer had consumed all of the tea, he set the cup down on a table near the bed. Lost-In-The-Forest's throat felt surprisingly better. It still hurt, but it wasn't as bad as before. The mage eyed the Dremora for a moment before saying, "Where did you learn to make tea the way I like it? I don't recall ever teaching you."

"Just because you didn't teach me doesn't mean that I wasn't paying attention, Mortal." Sparkticus replied.

"I should have known." Lost-In-The-Forest sighed.

"Don't you dare think for one moment that I will make tea for you when you are well." Sparkticus said with a frown. "That was not in the terms of our arrangement."

"Don't worry." Lost-In-The-Forest said. "I'll keep making my own tea once I'm done with this blasted cold."

"Good." Sparkticus said before asking, "Has your stomach settled down, Mortal?"

"A bit." Lost-In-The-Forest replied. "Why are you aski- hey, where are you going?"

Once again, the Dremora had gotten up without a word, leaving Lost-In-The-Forest alone in her bed. It was really, really annoying when he ran off like that. She laid back down in her bed with a sigh. Once again, she nodded off. Once again, her shoulder was shaken. The Argonian sat up. It was Sparkticus again, this time with a plate and a couple slices of buttered, toasted bread with blackberry preserves. Just the way she liked it. "How did you-?" she began.

Sparkticus interrupted her. "Yesterday morning's breakfast. Just because you didn't tell me doesn't mean that I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh." Lost-In-The-Forest replied, feeling a little foolish.

Sparkticus sat the plate down on the table next to her bed. He then picked up the empty teacup and walked off, presumably to make her some more tea. Lost-In-The-Forest slowly began to eat one of the slices of bread, taking small bites. It definitely was the way she liked it. That Dremora was a quick learner. Maybe if they retired from travelling, he could become her butler. Ha ha. No, she probably wouldn't do that to Sparkticus. Probably. Either way, he seemed to know just how she liked her tea and that she liked bread toasted, buttered, and smothered in blackberry preserves. By the time she was done with her first slice, her hands were much less shaky. If Sparkticus were to bring her some tea, she would probably be able to hold the cup. Speaking of the Daedra, she saw who returned. Sparkticus, once more with a cup of tea. "You know," Lost-In-The-Forest teased, "If you keep acting like this, one might assume that you like me."

"Oblivion forbid." Sparkticus snorted. "A mortal claiming friendship to a Daedra? Foolishness!"

"At least we don't hate each other." Lost-In-The-Forest sighed. "That would make travelling with you really suck."

"If I hated you, do you really think that I would be bringing you tea and toast?" the Dremora asked.

"No." Lost-In-The-Forest said, taking the tea from Sparkticus' hands. "You'd probably try to skewer me. Or put poison in the tea."

"I'm sure that I could come up with more creative ways than that." Sparkticus said with a smirk.

Lost-In-The-Forest couldn't help but laugh, which led to another cough. "Of that, I have no doubt."

By the time Lost-In-The-Forest had finished her tea and toast, she was growing rather drowsy. She yawned widely, showing her sharp teeth. She tried to sit up, but Sparkticus put a hand on her shoulder. With surprising gentleness, he pushed her back until she was lying down on the bed again. "Sleep." he said in no uncertain terms.

"Don't tell me what to do." Lost-In-The-Forest grumbled.

"Your mother left me in charge of taking care of you." Sparkticus said with a smirk. "Disobey me and you disobey your mother."

"Asshole." Lost-In-The-Forest said before laying her head down on her pillow and falling asleep.

　

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Tileeli looked very different from her mother and sister. Their green coloration was the only thing that the three had in common. Where Tala and Lost-In-The-Forest had yellow eyes, Tileeli had green eyes. Where Tala and Lost-In-The-Forest were petite, Tileeli was tall, like her father. Where Tala and Lost-In-The-Forest were incredibly curvy and busty, Tileeli was thin as a stick and rather average as far as her breasts went. Of course, these differences really didn't matter much. They were family. They loved each other. It was why, out of love for her mother and her older sister, she was visiting her mother's house. Lost-In-The-Forest was there, in bed and as sick as a dog with only a Dremora to attend to her. Tileeli picked up her pace, making sure to get to her mother's house faster. She quietly opened the door, stepped in, and closed the door. She took a glance around the immediate area of the house. There was no Dremora in sight. Quietly, she crept over to Lost-In-The-Forest's old room. The sight that met her was absolutely unexpected. Her older sister lay sleeping in bed, as peacefully as could be. Sitting in a chair next to the bed with a book open in his hands was a large, fully armored Dremora. He looked up from the book and quietly said, "If you wake her now, I will kill you slowly."

Tileeli froze, but she realized that her sister's summoned creature would be unlikely to actually harm her, especially without the Conjurer's consent. Making sure to keep quiet, Tileeli said, "You've been taking care of her?"

"Brilliant observation." Sparkticus snarked.

Tileeli sniffed the air. It was a familiar scent: the tea that Lost-In-The-Forest had enjoyed, even as a child. "You made her tea." Tileeli said quietly.

"Your observational prowess continues to astound me." Sparkticus said flatly.

"I'm just a bit... surprised. How do you know how to make tea just the way Lost-In-The-Forest likes it?" Tileeli asked

"Why is everyone so surprised by this?" Sparkticus groaned.

"Why is everyone in my room?" A now-awake Lost-In-The-Forest asked.

At the same time, Tileeli and Sparkticus both said, "Go back to sleep."

"Fine." Lost-In-The-Forest huffed, too tired to argue.

As the petite Argonian fell back asleep, her sister gazed thoughtfully at the pair. "You know, one would almost think that you and my sister are friends." Tileeli observed.

"Don't be stupid." Sparkticus said with a snort. "Daedra and mortals do not become _friends_."

"Right." Tileeli said as she walked out of the room. The Dremora could just keep telling himself that. Tileeli smirked. It would be best not to tell their mother. Tala already threw a fit when she found out that her oldest daughter was travelling with a summoned Dremora. Tileeli could only imagine the drama that would go on if her mother found out that Lost-In-The-Forest was friends with him. "Yeah." Tileeli said out loud. "They're screwed."

 


	2. Sparkticus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not every day that a Dremora gets food poisoning. It's also not every day that the Dremora's conjurer does her best to nurse him back to health.

A few months ago, Lost-In-The-Forest had been horribly ill with a bad cold and her summoned Dremora, Sparkticus, had essentially nursed her back to health. She had learned a few things about him while she was bedridden. One, he made an even better cup of tea than she did. Two, he was getting easier to get along with. It was about time, in her opinion. They had been travelling together for two years. Still, she knew that the concept of a Conjurer developing an open, carefree rapport with their summoned Dremora would probably be considered radical by some mages. Still, she seemed to be making progress, slow as it may be. He still often complained about her weaknesses. He _had_ seen her in a weak state a few months ago when she had a cold. Now, it seemed, the roles were reversed as she watched the queasy-looking Dremora. It wasn't a cold. No, this was the result of eating undercooked mudcrab meat. It was unfortunate proof that even Daedra weren't perfect. Sparkticus was suffering from a nasty case of food poisoning. This was one of those rare moments when the Dremora was out of his armor. He was clad in a simple off-white shirt and a pair of snug breeches. His ink-black face seemed a shade paler than usual and some of his ebony hair had fallen loose from the tail he kept it tied back in. His black eyes exuded misery. Suddenly, he leaned forward again. Lost-In-The-Forest was ready with a bucket as Sparkticus retched loudly. "Honestly, Sparkticus." the Argonaian sighed. "Mudcrabs? Everybody knows that you have to cook them first!"

　

"Shut..." the Dremora grunted. "Shut up... pathetic mortal."

　

Lost-In-The-Forest held the bucket as Sparkticus retched again. Every time she tried to give him something to drink, he just threw it back up. The Argonian fought the urge to roll her eyes. _He_ was calling _her_ pathetic? In his condition? Still, she had to try to be patient and understanding. Being this sick couldn't be easy on the Dremora's pride. And the mudcrab thing? Well, he should have seen that coming. Eating mudcrab meat without cooking it was just plain stupid. A twinge of pity ran through Lost-In-The-Forest. Sparkticus looked terrible. He continued to vomit until he began dry-heaving. He was in a really, really bad way. Lost-In-The-Forest sighed. She really could use a cup of tea. She paused. She had an idea! Without a word, she headed off to the kitchen. "Stupid Argonian." Sparkticus grunted.

　

In the kitchen, Lost-In-The-Forest was putting her herbal knowledge to the test. She searched through her belongings until she found what she sought. She then started heating some water. It wouldn't be a lie that she used a flames spell to heat things up faster. When the water was at the desired temperature, she placed the herbs she had selected into the hot water. Now all she had to do was wait.

　

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Sparkticus was furious. First he was furious at the mudcrab he had eaten for getting him sick. Then he was furious at himself for not listening and eating it without cooking it. Finally, he was furious at the Argonian for leaving him alone. This was her fault. She should have known that he wasn't going to listen! She should have pressed the matter! Now she had ran off to who knows where. The infuriating mortal was probably- oh, no, here it comes again. Sparkticus' body tried to vomit, but there was simply nothing left in his stomach to throw up. The repetitive vomiting had left his throat raw and sore. Normally his pride would never allow him to admit that anything was physically wrong with him, but the nausea and vomiting was a pretty big tip-off. He hated that. He hated being sick. He officially hated mudcrabs. He made a vow that, from then on, he would kill every mudcrab he saw. The species would pay for the indignities that had been inflicted upon his person. Once he was done retching, he leaned back into the pile of pillows that he had been propped up on. He wished that there was something he could do other than waiting for the unending nausea to subside. Reading a book would do. Unfortunately, there was still the chance that he might vomit on the book, rendering it useless. A bored Dremora was a dangerous Dremora. Well, he would be dangerous, were he not in such a weakened condition. He was thankful that there was no one to see him in this sickened state. Well, aside from Lost-In-The-Forest. She didn't count.

Finally, the Argonian came back. In her hands was a cup full of some sort of steaming liquid. It had a smell that he swore he had smelled before, but in his current state he couldn't identify it. Ever so gently, the Argonian brought one arm behind him and cradled his head. She used her free hand to bring the mug to his lips. After a bit of prompting, he sipped some of the liquid. The mortal was patient as the Dremora took small sips. He winced as the liquid washed over his raw throat. She seemed to be willing to wait for as long as it took for him to finish the cup of tea. When it was done, the Argonian sat the cup down and picked up a book. To Sparkticus' surprise, Lost-In-The-Forest began to read out loud. "In the early springtime morning, pale light flickered behind the morning mist floating through the trees as Templer and Stryingpool made their way to the clearing."

　

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As Lost-In-The-Forest read the story out loud, she fought the urge to smile. She knew the Dremora well enough to know that he liked to read more than he let on. She fought the urge to smile again when she noticed how shocked he was. Still, she kept reading. After a while, the effects of the catnip tea she had given him were starting to kick in. Its anti-nausea effects would certainly help him. He still looked dreadfully tired, though. He couldn't rest yet, though. After he had stopped vomiting for a certain amount of time, Lost-In-The-Forest poured him a glass of water. Not the hot stuff in the kitchen. Just boring, cool water. Just as she had aided him with the tea, the Argonian helped the Dremora drink the water. He refused at first, but Lost-In-The-Forest was firm with him. "You need it. You're dehydrated."

　

Sparkticus grumbled, but begrudgingly accepted her help. Lost-In-The-Forest hated seeing the proud Dremora like this, so weak and exhausted. Gently, she helped him lie back on the pillows. Slowly, he allowed his eyes to rest for a moment. Before long, he was asleep. Lost-In-The-Forest smiled and, in an almost motherly fashion, tucked a loose strand of black hair behind Sparkticus' pointed ear. She would let him rest for now.

　

A couple hours later again, she woke him up to give him some more of the catnip tea. He didn't seem pleased, but she was insistent that it would help him. Sparkticus grumbled, but he didn't argue. So this went on, all through the night. Lost-In-The-Forest would let the Dremora rest for a while, but would wake him up every few hours to make him drink some of the medicinal tea. Some time around four in the morning, the Argonian succumbed to exhaustion herself. She fell asleep in the chair she was sitting in.

　

When morning came, Lost-In-The-Forest was rather sore from having slept upright in a chair, but she was very pleased with the sight that met her eyes. Sparkticus was sitting up. He was drinking some water without her aid. It was all that Lost-In-The-Forest could do not to sigh in relief. The Dremora must have noticed that she was staring, as he lowered his cup and asked, "What are you staring at, Mortal?"

　

"I'm just glad that you're better." Lost-In-The-Forest admitted. "I was worried about you."

　

This seemed to catch the Dremora off-guard. "You were worried about me?"

　

"Yes." Lost-In-The-Forest replied. "I was worried about you. You were really sick. Can you really expect me not to worry about-"

　

She paused and shut her mouth. Sparkticus wouldn't let what she was about to say go unfinished. "Worried about what?" he said a bit more harshly than was appropriate.

　

Lost-In-The-Forest glared at him and spat out, "A friend! Gods know why, but you're someone that I care about, Sparkticus."

　

The Dremora stared in open astonishment at the Argonian. Finally, he said, "You mortals and your foolish sentiments."

　

He had meant it to be harsh, but his words lost some of their potency. He hated to admit it, but he had grown fond of the Argonian. "Look," Lost-In-The-Forest said, "If you're worried about people knowing about you getting sick, I won't tell anyone, mortal or immortal."

　

Sparkticus saw so much earnesty in Lost-In-The-Forest's eyes. Oblivion help him, he believed her. "You swear on this?" he asked.

　

"You have my word." Lost-In-The-Forest said with a smile. Her smile lessened when she said, "Look, if this means that I should dismiss you and not summon you again-"

　

"Mortal." Sparkticus interrupted. "Shut up."

　

Lost-In-The-Forest glared at the Dremora, but that glare lost some of its potency when he said, "I do not seek to end this association."

　

"You don't?" Lost-In-The-Forest whispered.

　

"Of course not." the Dremora said with a smirk. "You did, after all, say that I could kill our enemies in any manner I see fit. If killing is an art form, I have found my muse."

　

"I'm your muse?" Lost-In-The-Forest questioned

　

"Of course not." Sparkticus snorted. "Your fat ass probably blocks the view of whatever my muse is. Now get me something to eat."

　

"Asshole." Lost-In-The-Forest grunted before asking, "How about-"

　

"Not mudcrabs!" Sparkticus snapped. "Anything but mudcrabs!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra points if you know which Elder Scrolls book that the excerpt that Lost-In-The-Forest read is from.


End file.
